Why do people fall for someone they know might hurt them?

4/16/2026

762

7054

Questions Community

The questions community, chat, and discussion.

Nori

1mo

ENFP

Leo

91

The answer is actually more psychological than romantic. Often, loving someone who can hurt you, depending on their behavior, stems from the brain's recognition of stress and trauma patterns. A subconscious part of the brain often leads people to seek romantic relationships similar to those with their caregivers (mothers/fathers), either to correct past situations or because it creates a false sense of "well-being" when the brain identifies it as something familiar. Being with someone you know will hurt you can be not only a sign of low self-esteem and past trauma, but also one of the many causes of toxic, violent relationships where the victim continues to justify the abuser, whether due to "false love," familiarity, or the constant adrenaline rush.

343

35

Katt

1mo

ISFJ

Taurus

You take that risk with loving anybody, even the people you dont think will hurt you..

150

19

Karen

1mo

INTJ

Pisces

Porque somos estúpidos

86

6

Chinmay

1mo

INTJ

Leo

Because the heart is a terrible risk manager. It sees red flags and calls them butterflies.

54

5

Andrew

1mo

ENFP

Leo

21

Being in love is about being vulnerable, and vulnerability runs that risk.

40

2

Valen

1mo

INFP

Sagittarius

Les gusta el peligrooo

38

3

Tainara

1mo

ISTP

Sagittarius

87

Porque as pessoas gostam de coisas que não estão disponíveis pra elas, gostam do que não podem ter.

32

4

Chris Patch

1mo

INFJ

Aries

Cause we all crave love and when you feel unworthy you don't think your worth anyone else's love or time, so we cling desperately to what we have hoping we can fix it this time. Cause it's all we believe we are worth and that is all touch starved or love straved people need. It becomes an rush which corrodes its way to becoming addiction cause it's feels like there the only one who cares and you fall for the stick more and more often cause you want that carrot like you need air. Maybe I'm airing out grievances or maybe I'm just vulnerable.

26

3

Edgar

1mo

INFJ

Pisces

¿Quien dijo que el amor no duele? Todo en esta vida duele, ya sea un cambio o algo que quieras hacer todo te lastima, pero si solo te enfocas en el dolor, no vas descubrir las cosas bellas que te hizo crecer por sentir.

21

2

Alexie

1mo

ISTJ

Virgo

87

A few reasons… Two of these may be; Masochism ( emotional, physical), being hurt by others it is all they know and it’s their “normal” this can be rooted in their childhood, abuse etc.. (edited)

18

4

Sirius

1mo

INTJ

Cancer

87

Hope which might be ill-placed, or mere thrill. Often, without risk there's few fun. Love always bears some risk anyway.

GIF uploaded by Sirius

20

1

Alice

1mo

ISFP

Gemini

78

Talvez porque não podemos escolher por quem vamos nós apaiixonar. Não da para controlar o que sentimos, mas cabe a nós decidir se permanece com alguém que nós fere ou não. Tudo é questão de escolha. (edited)

12

2

Krys

1mo

INTP

Leo

87

For the love of the game.

10

10

Jessica

1mo

INFP

Taurus

65

Aun crees que puede salir diferente

10

4

Karishma

1mo

ISTJ

Aquarius

12

When heart already made the decision , mind shuts.

12

1

wafa

1mo

ISFJ

Virgo

32

If we had known that, we would not have loved them.

10

2

S∞úLFrïénD

1mo

INTP

Pisces

91

By ​​Vedic philosophy we are often governed by Rajas means turbulent passion & Tamas means delusion...these forces prioritize high-intensity chemistry over long-term stability ​This aligns with the brain's Dopaminergic Reward System...the unpredictability of a risky partner creates a dopamine spike similar to gambling making the emotional highs addictive ​Misalignment of the Koshas means the five sheaths or layers...​We experience a glitch between our Manomaya Kosha means emotional/habitual mind & our Vijnanamaya Kosha means intellectual discernment...the emotional mind seeks what is familiar...even if that familiarity is rooted in past pain ​This is reflected in Attachment Theory...our amygdala may be conditioned to associate love with instability...leading us to subconsciously seek out stressful relationship dynamics because they feel familiar Vasanas means subconscious impressions act like stored data that filter our reality....We are entangled with people who match our internal frequency...often seeking mirrors for our own unhealed trauma ​Information theory suggests our brains filter vast amounts of data based on past patterns we literally see & tune into people who reinforce our existing subconscious beliefs about ourselves ​We fall for risky individuals when our Prefrontal Cortex (the modern seat of Viveka means discernment ) is overruled by habitual emotional loops...Growth involves moving from reactive attraction to conscious selection by balancing our internal data through self-observation🧘‍♀️🙏​

Image uploaded by S∞úLFrïénD

9

2

Barbara

1mo

INTP

Sagittarius

87

Enamoramiento no es AMOR ❤️ Y la dopamina segregada por impuldos muchas veces se confunde con amor y simplemente es atracción o una dependencia... Muchas personas están ahí porque les gusta aunque todos vemos lo que pasa desde afuera 😸

6

7

Naomi

1mo

INFJ

Sagittarius

67

Unhealed patterns

5

4

Nadia

1mo

ENFJ

Leo

32

Because of the patterns formed during childhood

7

2

laiza

1mo

INTJ

Aries

because some wants challenge and in love you risk every thing even it meant to hurt you (edited)

5

3

Kalendren

1mo

INTJ

Libra

I don't know we will always attracted to someone who going to hurt us

4

3

Kivi

1mo

INFJ

Virgo

87

Ich glaube...weil fast jeder Mensch unter bestimmten Bedingungen verletzen kann. Wirklich gefährlich wird es für mich erst dann...wenn jemand immer wieder aus demselben Muster heraus wehtut. Keine Verantwortung übernimmt und jeden Fehler zuverlässig dem anderen erkärt und zuschreibt und nie erkennt, dass nicht nur der Streit, sondern das eigene Muster die eigentliche Konstante ist.

6

3

Saff

1mo

ISTJ

Cancer

21

they see the good in the person and give them chances

7

1

Phoebe

1mo

INFJ

Aquarius

21

Trauma bond Familiarity Trying to right the wrongs Lust, limerence?🤔 For satisfying one's curiosity..😅 For some, being in a dysfunctional relationship is better than being single. Loneliness and aloneness can be overwhelming at times.. 🥲 (edited)

5

5

liz

1mo

ENTP

Leo

67

todas as pessoas correm o risco de machucar alguém, seja intencional ou não. acho que tem aqueles que acreditam que a pessoa pode tentar mudar para não magoar o outro lado, e também deve ter aqueles que pensam que apesar de alguns contras, o prós fazem valer a pena. deve ter mais um milhão de motivos, pessoas são complexas.

5

6

Viv

1mo

INTJ

Scorpio

Creo que a veces buscamos lo que nos emociona, incluso si sabemos que no es lo mejor. El amor puede ser así de loco.

4

3

𝖲𝖺𝗆𝗒𝗋𝖺 𐙚

1mo

INFJ

Sagittarius

87

as pessoas nao sao 100% defeitos ne... mas tem os doido masoquistas tmb

4

1

Sandhiya

1mo

ENFP

Aries

Love is blind

4

1

SolaeFerocia

1mo

ENFP

Aquarius

45

Porque no han ido a terapiaaaa

3

2

laila♡

1mo

INTP

Gemini

67

Everything is a risk, nothing is a sure thing, that's life.

3

2

𝕵ennie

1mo

ENFP

Sagittarius

45

I think it's an issue of self worth amongst many reasons tbh, that's what happened to me 🥀 If you go for a person and you get a sense that something feels 'off' and know who's bad for you but still go on, then yeah, it's probably subconscious beliefs or attachment trauma. You might operate on delusion and overidealize that person for someone they're not, because maybe you're in love with them and it clouds your perception in some way.

4

1

Yass

1mo

ENFJ

Virgo

5

0

Una Mora

1mo

ENFJ

Taurus

En el caso de las chicas creo que es por dos razones principales; en primer lugar a veces nos queremos creer todas las mentiras que nos cuentan al inició. Y en segundo lugar porque tenemos complejos de salvadoras y lo vamos a cambiar, y ese chico se va a enamorar perdidamente del buen trato que le daré. Jajajajajaja... Nos terminamos mintiendo a nosotras mismas en ambos casos.

5

1

Honey

1mo

ISTJ

Pisces

21

In the first place. Why do people open someone's heart, let them believe in love and then become the reason it breaks? ... if we could see the pain ahead, we might have stepped away sooner instead of learning the hard way.

4

1

Ellda

1mo

INFJ

Cancer

78

Karna cinta itu membuat seseorang mnjadi buta tak punya akal pikiran untuk bertindak secara logis,cinta itu mengandalkan hati bukan pikiran yg jernih untuk menerima kenyataan

3

1

Manu

1mo

INFP

Cancer

67

Verliebtheit macht immer auch verletzlich. Es ist nicht dieser konkrete Mensch, der uns weh tun kann, sondern die Anziehung zu ihm

3

7

"noOne"

1mo

ENTJ

Virgo

Loving someone always comes with risk, it's as natural as death.

3

1

A༗🂡⏳

1mo

ENFJ

Sagittarius

34

If you had a choice you wouldn't "fall" would you?

GIF uploaded by A༗🂡⏳

6

4

Middy

1mo

INFJ

Libra

Love doesnt choose. Its like gambling, you have to risk to know. Then slowly move on..

4

1

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